In the final week of the campaign to change the law around first aid in the workplace, Chair of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England, Professor Mark Watson-Gandy, has shared his perspective as a barrister in Legal Week on why we need to update the Health and Safety regulations to include mental health.
In the article, Professor Watson-Gandy looks at the impact of mental ill health for both employees and employers, explores the state of health and safety legislation, and discusses what this change could mean in the workplace.
Since joining the Board of MHFA England in 2014, Professor Watson-Gandy has been a strong advocate for the organisation’s campaign to bring parity of esteem to first aid legislation’s treatment of mental health – a journey which he charts from the Early Day Motion tabled on World Mental Health Day 2016, to the present day.
He goes on to discuss the next steps of this process, announcing the establishment of an Expert Reference Group to allow industry, government and third sector stakeholders to collaborate to discuss the practicalities of implementing any new legislation.
In closing, Professor Watson-Gandy emphasises the need to rally public and third sector support on this issue, through the ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ campaign which closes at the end of June.
You can read the article in full here.
To find out more about the ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ campaign and sign the petition click here.